Night has Come
by Kiera540
Summary: A Voltron Modern AU in which Adam and Lance are vigilantes while Shiro and Keith are the detectives assigned to track them, when news reaches the Police that the vigilantes Winger and Sharpshooter have teamed up to fight the violent Galra Gang, Police Chief Alfor tasks Shiro and Keith to the case.
1. The Briefing

Keith shot awake at the sound of his alarm blaring next to his head, he groaned as he dragged his body out of bed and went straight into the shower. He knew he had an important meeting with the Police Chief about some new details in a case he had been working on, but the details of the meeting were vague. Throwing on his classic red shirt and leather jacket he grabbed his hat and keys then he made his way down the four floors to the main lobby of his apartment complex, he hurried to where his black and red motorcycle was waiting for him. Racing down the streets of Altea City his stomach kindly reminded him that his first stop should be Space Goo Bakery that was right across from the Precinct.

"Hey Keith!" Hunk called cheerfully as he entered.

"Hey Hunk, how's it going?" Keith replied, setting his helmet down on the counter in between himself and Hunk.

"Oh ya know, just keeping everyone well fed. You want your usual right?"

"Yes on the usual, and trust me everyone in whole precinct loves you."

"Aw thanks! Here everything is already done. Got a busy day today?" Hunk asked as he handed Keith a white bag with his usual bagel with cream cheese and a black coffee.

"I've got a meeting with the Chief today, after that I'm not sure it all depends on how the meeting goes." Keith payed as he spoke, starting to wake up when the strong coffee smell invaded his nose.

"Alright well good luck! Enjoy your goo!" Hunk yelled his famous line as Keith left chuckling, walking to his job that was conveniently located right across from Hunk's bakery.

He first went to his locker to change, inspecting himself in the mirror to ensure that everything was in order before he actually saw the Chief.

Plopping down at his desk, Keith ate his bagel and checked his email while waiting for the meeting time; he was hoping that something from forensics was going to be waiting for him, but today was not that day.

"Kogane, the Chief's ready for you." Keith nodded at the passing officer before throwing away his now empty coffee cup, taking a deep breath right before entering the Chief's office, shocked to see Shiro already inside.

"Detective Kogane, thank you for taking the time for this meeting. I know you already know Detective Shirogane, correct?" The Chief spoke after Keith closed the door to his office.

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Chief Alfor if you don't mind me asking, why did you call both of us for this meeting?" Shiro questioned.

"I'm sure you're both aware of this, but I'll go over it anyways; Shiro you have been tracking the vigilante known as 'Winger' for the past six years, while Keith has been tracking 'Sharpshooter' for the past four years."

"Yes, sir that's true." Shiro's curiosity was spiking at the names of two of the best-known vigilantes of Altea City. Keith, on the other hand, was outright pissed; Sharpshooter had managed to evade him for four full years, the blue-and-black clad crime fighter was the only case that Keith hasn't been able to solve in his career as a police officer.

"Well, we just receive some new intel concerning the both of them, the intel just came in last night from our resident CSI expert. After analyzing their movements that the two of you have tracked and their latest jobs, she's completely positive that there's only one conclusion- they've teamed up." Chief Alfor, watched his two officers closely as he delivered the news, both of these vigilantes had given them trouble for years.

Neither Winger nor Sharpshooter actually killed the guys that they fought, and they had only given minor injuries to police officers, but that was only if they approached them to attempt an arrest. Winger had been around for longer and was close to Shiro's age, he is a very prominent figure in the fight against the violent Galra Gang; Sharpshooter, as his name suggested, was known for his incredible marksmanship and was also very active against the Galra Gang, but these two had never attempted to team up before, hell there has never been any evidence that they had ever spoken to each other at all, but if forensics said they've teamed up then it had to be true.

"Since you two are the leading detectives on the cases, I thought it was a good idea if you two teamed up as well. What do you say, can you two work together?" Chief Alfor knew it was pointless to ask, he wasn't expecting any problems from these two, but the opinions of his fellow officers was very important to him, so he wanted to hear them say it themselves.

"Of course, Sir, I think that's a good idea, right Keith?" Shiro pointily glanced back at Keith, he knew that there was no problem in a team up, but this was Sharpshooter that they were talking about. Shiro knew how important this case was for him.

"Right, no problem, Chief." Keith was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Shiro's eyes on him, if he recalled properly, Sharpshooter had said at some point before that he would always work solo, so, what had caused this?

"Good. If there's nothing either of you two need, you're dismissed."

* * *

Once outside of the office, the two detectives immediately grabbed their computers and their files surrounding the case before heading into a meeting room to come up with a "battle plan."

"Okay this is all of the information that I currently have on Winger and the Galra Gang, I think that our first step should be to familiarize ourselves with the opposite vigilante and then go from there. Let's see if there are any connections." Keith nodded his agreement and they wasted no time in organizing their stacks of files before Keith launched into an impromptu presentation of his vigilante.

"Okay, so, Sharpshooter is known for his marksmanship skills from an unknown weapon. His weapon resembles a military-grade sniper rifle, however, its actual origin is unknown; our best guesses points to the fact that it was probably was an actual military sniper rifle at some point before being modified with unregistered tech.

The majority of the time, this weapon does not leave any casings or bullet shells, whether he picks them up himself or if it was designed that way is still unknown, I did manage to find what appears to be a shell from his weapons a few days ago and Intelligence is working to see what they can find out. You with me so far?" Shiro chuckled at the difference in Keith's normal attitude and his police attitude, but he was paying attention all the same, and was keeping notes so Keith wouldn't have to repeat himself.

"Yeah, I'm following. Has there been any word regarding the shell?"

"Not yet, I'm hoping to hear from them soon though. Okay moving on, Sharpshooter has also shown to have incredible flexibility, even to the skill level of a professional gymnast. As for where this comes from, we have no idea, we don't know if he was trained or if this is all self-taught."

"How else can he move?"

"Well, he's extremely graceful; his movements are smooth and fluid, just by looking at him I'd say that he has some background in dancing. High jumping, tumbling, and parkour are more of his talents. Sharpshooter is also damn near impossible to catch, just when you think that you have him cornered, he'll find a way to use his skills to escape."

Now that was something, "damn near impossible to catch" to hear Keith say that was shocking to Shiro, but at the same time it was predictable, the guy is still out there after all. Keith has always been known to have some crazy plans, but no one could argue with the results that he got. Catching someone had never been a problem for Keith before Sharpshooter, as a matter fact, the Sharpshooter case was assigned to another person before being transferred to Keith who had the best odds of capturing him. The hot-headed, at the time, rookie detective was put in charge of the newest vigilante causing enough of a scene to get people's attention.

Shiro remembered when Sharpshooter first showed up, his costume had been white with bright blue accents, he never cared who saw him while he flipped around doing what he could to help with an almost childlike attitude. A couple of years later, one of the most violent gangs that Altea City had ever seen started to make their presence more well known, choosing to work in broad daylight regardless of any consequences instead of sticking in the shadows like they used to.

A young girl, ten years old if Shiro remembered correctly, was taken by the Galra to "prove a point" the point being that they were untouchable, the police and even regular citizens went searching for this young girl out of fear of what they would do to her. Reportedly, Sharpshooter was seen entering a building about forty minutes before police showed up ready to storm inside, the little girl, however; was running out of the building a few minutes later saying that Sharpshooter that saved her and was still inside. The great relief of the girl's safety was replaced with confusion as to what the police should do, Sharpshooter had yet to be seen leaving the building, but the lack of noise and lights made it seem like the fight was over. After ten minutes of scouting around the building and setting up a perimeter, flames started sprouting up from nowhere, quickly licking up the whole building until the whole thing was a makeshift bonfire.

Sharpshooter wasn't seen for two months after that and when he was finally seen again, he was different. The white on his costume was now black and looked more like armor than fabric, he started working in the shadows more, rarely being seen himself by anyone only the aftermath told you he was there, and Sharpshooter himself seemed darker, more rugged. Shiro, along with the majority of people, knew that something serious had to have happened while he was rescuing the child. The question was what had happened? Now, almost one year after that, they still had no idea what actually happened that night.

"I lost you, didn't I?" Keith's voice cut into Shiro's reminiscing, reminding him of the present world.

"No you didn't, sorry I was just thinking about a few things." Shiro flashed him a reassuring smile, he really was paying attention and this new information combined with his current knowledge could be just what they need to get the answers that they seeked.

"Yeah, it's a lot to take in at once, sorry. Coffee break and then you tell me about Winger?"

"Sounds good. Let's go."

* * *

"Oh hey guys! Taking a lunch break too?" Pidge popped up behind the pair as they exited the precinct, chatting in a chipper voice.

"Lunch? Pidge it's like 9 o'clock in the morning!" Keith glanced down at Pidge like she was growing three heads. He knew that being in CSI meant that sometimes they worked some insane hours but to be so screwed up that she was ready for lunch this early in the morning had to be a new record.

"Dude what are you talking about? It's noon, ya know."

Shiro and Keith both whipped their heads to check the watches on their respective wrists before two pairs of eyes went so wide Pidge was worried that they were going to pop out of their heads and roll down the street. Turns out that Pidge was right, it was noon. Neither one of them realized how much time had passed during what had seemed to be two short meetings.

"Welcome back to the living! Now that you know the time and should be realizing that you're hungry, want to go to the café down the road?" Pidge had already started walking toward the popular café without waiting for their answer knowing that they would follow her.

"Might as well, right?" Shiro shrugged as he made his way after her, he was getting hungry and it was a great place for lunch after all and he wanted to talk to Pidge about the bullet casing that Keith had mentioned earlier anyways.

Keith looked at his watch one last time and checked the position of the sun just to make sure, before running a hand through his hair and going after the two people who were probably his closest friends.

"Hey Curtis!" Pidge called cheerfully as the three members entered the family owned café.

"Hey guys!" Curtis smiled at three of his regulars and gestured at some of the empty tables behind him, indicating that they could sit wherever they wanted in that section.

Shiro and Keith sat across from each other in one of the available booths and Pidge plopped down next to Shiro, none of them bothered to look at the menus sitting in front of them. They had been coming to this café since they had joined and Curtis was the son of the current owners, but the whole restaurant had always been owned by someone in their family. Curtis was close to Shiro's age and while he was currently in medical school, he did work in the café during his time off of school and that's how the three of them, plus the majority of the police in the area knew Curtis and the Space Café.

"How's it going guys?" The darker skin man greeted as he came over.

"Oh you know, just the usual police stuff, Shiro and Keith were in meetings and lost track of time again." Pidge informed him with a cheeky grin.

"Of course they did." He laughed, "Want your usual lunch orders?"

After receiving the conformations, Curtis disappeared into the kitchen before reemerging with three coffees, straight black for Keith, black with a couple creams and sugars on the side for Shiro, and one absolutely loaded with sugar and cream for Pidge that it was practically white.

"It'll be ready in just a few minutes guys." Curtis deposited the coffees then went back to serve other people in his area while the three remaining members waited for their food.

* * *

"Okay now it's my turn." Shiro stated after they had returned from lunch and waved goodbye to Pidge as she also returned to her work.

"Shoot. What's the deal with Winger?" Keith was glad that they took their break when they did, this was a lot of information they were throwing at each other all at once.

"As you know, Winger has been on the scene longer than Sharpshooter, but Intelligence only places him as a few years older, somewhere around my age they guess. His name actually comes from the public, when he first showed up no one had any idea what his intentions actually were and to add to that, he uses a small drone-like device. So the public named him Winger as in he 'wings what he does' and the fact that he uses something similar to a drone the same way satellites are used."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"Well as far as we know, this 'drone' can scan for heat signatures, make a map of a scanned building, be used for patrolling, and also as a camera."

"Fancy, but you're aware that that's not really like a satellite, right?" Keith scoffed.

"Eh, close enough. Yours gets a fancy gun mine gets a fancy drone. Now pay attention, Sharpshooter had an outfit change, but Winger has been pretty much the same since he first showed up aside from a few upgrades here and there. Still using what appears to be black armor with dark purple accents, Winger is more of a hand-to-hand combat class, he always preferred to be in close range to his opponents instead of having distance."

"Opposite of Sharpshooter who always wants distance to take his long shots."

"Speaking of which, I forgot to ask, but what kind of damage can that gun of his do?"

"He has a few different rounds, the first is pretty much exactly like a traditional bullet, the second is a stun round that knocks people unconscious and can blow fuses, while the third is more of a small explosive round. What about Winger? What does he use?"

"Fancy." Shiro copied Keith's earlier statement, he'd have to admit that Sharpshooter's weapon and the skill required to use it, was just flat out impressive.

"Winger's main weapon is a bo staff that has what's like a high powered taser on the end of it, and when he activates it, it has the ability to knock you out in just a few seconds; he also has a variety of knives hidden all over his body. He's been fighting the Galra since day one, and while he's definitely made things difficult for them, it hasn't been enough to put a serious dent in their operations. That leads me to believe that the reason for Sharpshooter and Winger's team-up was forced into necessity by the Galra Gang, they want to do more, something bigger, but they can't do it on their own."

"That was my theory too. The two of them could do more damage together than separate, but I don't think that they'll move right away. I think that they're planning a big op now while running smaller ones to get used to the others style."

"Makes sense. That would be the best way to do it."

"Let's go down to Forensics and I can show you the round that we talked about during lunch."

"Lead the way." The two detectives gathered up their files and deposited them on their desks before heading down to see Pidge and the infamous bullet shell from Sharpshooter.

 **And there you have it! The first chapter of the new series! I hope everyone enjoyed that and Chapter 2 is on its way. Extra points to those of you who remembered Curtis from seasons 7 and 8 of VLD.**

 **See you next time!**

 **~Kiera540 and KadyG**


	2. Discovery

**Review Answers-**

 **Lynn** **\- Hi! Thanks for the compliment! It is supposed to be "Winger" and I believe that I have fixed all of the improper spellings, thanks for pointing that out. Quick fun fact, "Watcher" is actually the name for someone else that you meet in this chapter. -Kiera540**

 **Shiranai Atsune \- ****Thank you so much! We're so glad that you liked the first chapter! -Kiera540 and KadyG**

 **The Titan's Shadow \- ****Thank you for giving me the correct spelling, I actually used the other spelling as a place holder and then proceeded to completely forget to look up the proper way. I am aware that an instant KO taser isn't possible and it wasn't my intention to have it come across that way, so I apologize for that confusion and I did reword it to something that I think is more clear, but still something that Shiro would say to Keith. The rest of your questions were actually already lined up to be answered in this Chapter 2, you just got a little ahead of me. Thank you for your comment and for the help offer! -Kiera540**

 **We hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you for all of the likes and reviews so far! -Kiera540 and KadyG**

"Keith! Keith you're not going to believe this!" Pidge practically screamed as she ran through the precinct. Keith, who had walked in the door less than five minutes ago, froze where he stood as his ears started ringing in protest to Pidge's loud voice so early in the morning, but before he could voice his complaints or even ask what was going on, Pidge had zipped in next to him, grabbed his arm and was dragging him to her CSI lab.

"Look!" She said excitedly pointing at the object in front of them.

"What am I looking at Pidge?" Keith squinted at the object unsure of why it was so important.

"I forgot you're not a morning person." Pidge muttered seeming disappointed that Keith wasn't as excited as she was, "Come on, what does it look like?"

"Part of a bullet shell...with something on it? No, there's definitely a thin layer of something on it, what is it?"

"It appears to be a kind of dissolving acid. When I got this shell it was whole, now it has dissolved to the half-way point." Pidge started rolling her hands queuing him in that the dots in his head should start connecting right about now.

"And how does that affect me?"

Pidge smacked her forehead so hard that a red spot had temporarily decided to appear there, taking a deep breath she looked into Keith's eyes before speaking, "Keith, this is the one that you gave me! The one we think is from Sharpshooter!"

Keith's eyes blew wide open at that, her singular comment woke him up more than coffee ever could. This was exactly what they needed! Now Keith understood why Pidge started thinking that he was an idiot as the dots flew together in his head.

"That means that..." He was cut off by Pidge's once again excited voice.

"Yes! I know how his shells always disappear, and even a few more things!"

"What'cha got?"

"Grab Shiro and I'll tell ya."

That was the fastest that Keith had sprinted through the precinct in a long time; he ran faster than Pidge had earlier, but without the screaming. Keith quickly found Shiro walking in a hallway unsuspectingly reading from one of his files, Keith nearly tackled him in his haste to drag him in a similar fashion as Pidge had done to him.

"Keith, what-"

"You've got to see this!" After that Shiro decided to just go with it and let Keith drag him to where Pidge was impatiently waiting.

"Look!" Pidge repeated when they pretty much screeched to a stop next to her.

"A bullet casing? Wait, is this the one Keith found from Sharpshooter?"

Pidge smirked at Keith when Shiro immediately got what she was trying to show him before launching into her explanation, "Yes! I finally figured out how he never leaves any shells! Okay so when Keith gave me this, it was a whole shell, and when I left last night, it was still a whole shell, but when I can in this morning it was halfway destroyed and this lining became visual."

"What is the lining?" Shiro questioned.

"Like I just told Keith, it appears to be some type of acid. I'd imagine that after Sharpshooter fires his round and the shell is discharged the extreme heat generated from firing causes this acid to start eating away at the shell, thus leaving behind no trace of its existents."

"Genius." Shiro breathed out, Keith looked equally impressed but he refused to give Sharpshooter the satisfaction of him saying that out loud even though there was no way for him to hear Keith.

"You said you found out some other things as well?" Keith said instead.

"Oh yeah, judging from the shell and what I know about Sharpshooter and his firing speed, I'd say that this was fired from a semi-automatic modified sniper rifle. If I had to guess at the modifications I'd go with- improved scope, noise dampening, and probably recoil suppression too. Also, I believe that this was from one of his stun rounds."

"I've seen his weapon up-close it is modified, and I have to say I agree." Keith thought back to every time he had seen the weapon, he had always been so focused on where it was pointing that he never had a good opportunity to properly check it out.

"Nice work Pidge, I don't know how you do it. Anything else?" Shiro praised her as she smiled brightly at him.

"Actually I have a theory."

"Let's hear it."

"Well I was thinking about Winger's staff; specifically the taser part of it."

"What about it?"

"Has anyone ever gotten burned from that thing before?"

Shiro thought about that for a moment, he wasn't quite sure where Pidge was going with this, but it was obviously important to her.

"I know that members of the Galra have gotten burns after fighting him, some of them were minor while other times they're pretty severe, but I don't think that a police officer has actually been burned before and he's never used it on a civilian."

"See that's the part that I just can't figure out, as far as we know it is a taser, but a taser with enough power behind it to knock someone out in such a short amount of time would consistently leave one hell of a burn. So originally I thought that maybe he just adjusted the power on his staff, but that still wouldn't fully explain the drastic difference in the severity of the burns, so now I'm wondering if maybe there's something that the Galra wear or have on them that causes a more severe reaction from his taser."

The three people in the room dropped into thought after Pidge voiced her thought process, it was true that a taser would burn you when it made contact, but the extreme difference in the burns themselves said that there was more to Wingers bo staff than originally thought.

"Well that's all I've got for now." Pidge shrugged at them before heading off to the corner of the room to continue her work for the day.

* * *

"We've got a change of plans."

"What happened?" Two voices answered simultaneously.

"They've moved the location and the time of the arms deal."

"When is it?"

"Tonight."

A loud groan was heard from the man plopped on a couch that had seen better days, "Watcher, that true?" He called over his shoulder to the only person in the room not wearing some form of armor.

"Yep, looks like it. Taking the data from Wingers drone and the movement I'm seeing, I agree with him."

"Great. I guess were hitting that tonight?"

"Why not? You got a date?" Winger dropped into an armchair across from his new partner as he spoke.

"I could, ya know."

"Right. I'll remember that." Winger paused as he watched Sharpshooter coat his rounds with a dissolving acid.

"Do you have to do that?"

"Yes."

"It's a waste of time and effort."

"I'll have you know that this trick has saved my ass a few times."

"I'll believe that when I see it. We just did a job; you got enough rounds for this one?"

"Once I'm done I'll have more than enough for it. A job like this isn't a big deal, after all. How's your glowstick?" Winger threw a half-hearted glare at Sharpshooters favorite nickname of his weapon of choice.

"It's still better than yours."

"Says the guy who nearly burned his hand off from what I've heard."

"Bold words from the guy who was about two inches away from burning his face off from an explosive round."

The two vigilantes stared at each other from their respective seats, neither could deny what the other had said due to the fact that it was true for both parties, so they sat there, smirking at one another just waiting to see who would break first.

"Yo, Wing got a second?" The man called Watcher called out choosing to ignore the growing competition.

Winger sighed as he rose out of his seat, but ended up chuckling to himself as he went, that kid was getting better.

"What's up?" Winger asked as he leaned on the back of Watchers chair.

"The Galra troop movements seem erratic lately, I'm not sure what's going on right now."

"Want me to send my drone out and scan their movements?"

"No I've hacked into enough cameras that I can see them clearly. It's just unusual, be careful tonight."

"You say that like I'm not."

"Adam." He said dropping his voice and glancing to Sharpshooter.

"Yeah I've got it. Don't do anything reckless, and don't let the kid die or get himself captured...again. I know you've worked with him longer, but now that I'm here, I won't let anything happen to him Matt." The other man matched the volume of his voice.

"Good. Hey, one last thing, Sharp listen up." Watcher called raising his voice again.

"What?"

"I heard that those detectives that have been on your guys asses just got assigned a new case."

"Samurai got a new case? I'm actually offended." Sharpshooter scoffed at the thought that after all this time they would change the lead detective on his case.

"I still don't understand why you gave him that nickname. What are they doing now? And who is assigned to us?" Winger was always fully informed of who was in charge of their cases, it didn't really matter to him, but it never hurt to know their style.

"That's the thing, they were assigned to track you two together."

"Huh, that's unusual, but I suppose it makes sense; however, that means they've caught wind of the fact that we're working together now." That was something that Winger cared about, those two working together could cause problems in the future.

"Hey, earlier you said 'your guys asses' you meant 'ours' right? For all three of us?" Sharpshooter didn't seem to care at all about their team up.

"Nope. They have no idea that I'm here, that's why I'm called 'Watcher' after all, I watch your backs and they're none the wiser."

"Now that's not fair. We're getting shot at and you're just chilling in here."

"Life's not fair kid, have you listened to anything we've said?"

"He never listens you know that." Winger chose that time to pipe in.

"Yes I'm aware, he's one of the main reasons I have constant heart attacks when you two are out in the field."

"You're welcome." Sharpshooter said proudly as he returned to his previous task.

* * *

"Hey Hunk! I'm so sorry that I'm late!"

"Oh hey Allura! Don't worry about it, it's been a slow morning." Hunk cheerfully greeted the white-haired woman as she entered.

Allura gave him another apologetic smile before slipping into the back to drop off her things and put her apron on. She had decided to take some time off before going to law school, she wanted to be a lawyer but after the sudden death of her mother last year, Allura needed some time to re-collect herself before continuing on in her career. She had applied for this job because she thought that it would be fun and she loved the opportunity to help Hunk out; her other favorite thing about this bakery was its location, she was close to her apartment and the majority of her close friends, even her father was right across the street. She started at the register, but had quickly grown mesmerized by what Hunk created and before she knew what had happened, she was now the master decorator for Space Goo Bakery.

"I'm going to start baking Mrs. Crawler's baby shower cake, so could you run this stuff over to the precinct for me?" Hunk asked after she had returned, already gathering the required ingredients.

"You couldn't have asked that before I put my apron on?" She glared at him for a moment, but there was no anger in it as she put her apron back in its proper place.

"Yeah, sorry about that. The order is right over there." Hunk pointed to the usual place they left their larger orders, after he helped Allura balance the boxes of various baked treats and the small army of coffee cups he opened the door for her and shooed her out.

Once across the way, a passing officer saw Allura approach and helped her inside so she could deliver what the officers were really excited about seeing; as she set everything up, she grabbed a coffee and a blueberry muffin and made her way to her father's office.

"Come in." Chief Alfor called when he heard a knock on his door.

"Ah Allura!" He greeted happily.

"Hello Father! I brought you something." She smiled while depositing what she had before plopping down in the chair on the other side of his desk.

"Why thank you. How is Hunk and the bakery doing? Everyone always loves his food."

"We had a slow morning, but we have a few parties coming up to keep us busy. Of course, Hunk is Hunk, he's always coming up with a new delicious recipe that changes what the Bakery Favorite is every other week."

"Well that's a good thing." Alfor chuckled as he enjoyed his muffin. They chatted about random things for a few more minutes before Allura realized that she should probably start heading back to the bakery.

"Oh hey Allura!" Shiro's cheerful voice filled her ears after she exited the Chief's office.

"Hi Shiro, how's it going?"

"Busy with a new case at the moment, but other than that I'm good. How are you doing?"

"Good, Hunk and I have some parties coming up and I'm looking forward to decorating their orders. Hey Keith!"

"Hey Allura, thanks for the coffee." Keith seemed to pop up out of thin air once the coffee smell started to waft out of the room.

"You drink too much coffee." Shiro informed him.

"Says the man currently drinking coffee."

"True, but this is my first cup today, and remind me how many have you had today? Somewhere around 6 cups?"

Allura giggled at their antics before waving goodbye to head back to Hunk.

* * *

It was unusually slow for lunchtime at the Space Café so Curtis started counting the mints and seeing if he could get the pens to stand upright on their own, he was working the register today and was bored out of his mind. That is until a certain someone showed up, a someone that he hasn't seen for a couple of months.

"We need to talk." Matt said quietly to him while motioning outside. Curtis grabbed the nearest employee who was just sitting at one of the empty tables on his phone to take his place before following Matt outside.

"Matthew Holt, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Curtis was on edge, the last time he had seen Matt was when...no he didn't want to even think about that.

"What I can't just visit my friend?"

"Not with the mutual friends we have. Before you say anything, is he okay?"

"He's fine." Curtis raised an eyebrow at what Matt tried to pass off as an answer to his question.

"Really he's fine, the leg hasn't been a problem for almost two months now, besides that's not why I'm here."

"Then what do you need?" Curtis felt relief rush through him at Matt's words, he believed in what the three of them were doing, he knew that the public and the majority of the police force did as well, but the fact still remained; they operated outside of the law, and that was why they had to be pursued.

"Have you noticed anything strange recently?"

"Strange how? You've got to give me something."

"You know what I mean. I know that you volunteer in hospitals aside from working here, you seen or heard anything that would interest us?"

"There's been a slight increase in what we classify as 'street fight injuries' nothing really important though. Why? What's going on?"

"Just some weird movements. I feel like they're planning something, but I can't find any evidence to back it up. Be on the lookout for me?" Matt figured it was a good thing that Curtis didn't have anything for him, at the same time, however; he was frustrated to no end. Something was going on, but without some form of clue he couldn't do anything.

"Aren't I always? Want a drink, or a sandwich?" Curtis nodded his head back towards the diner.

"No, thanks. I'm meeting my younger sister at the pizza place around the corner."

"Lunch with a cop and at the Café's competition? You're brave I'll give you that."

"Okay first off, she's not technically a cop; second, come on, we all know that they have better pizza while you guys have a better literally-everything-else."

Matt waved goodbye to him before heading off toward Al's Pizza World, Curtis was relieved that nothing was wrong, and in all honesty that was just Matt's way of checking up on him, but Curtis couldn't help feeling nervous, it was never good if Matt was worried about something.

 **I hope that everyone enjoyed Chapter 2! Reminder that I suck at chapter names so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them! Chapter 3 is in the works. If you like my writing style, I have also written another VLD fic called "Stranded" so check it out if you would like too.**

 **See you next time!**

 **Kiera540 and KadyG**


	3. Backstory

**Apologies for the delay! February until May is my busiest time of the year, but rest assured that I'm still getting the chapters out as fast as I can! Enjoy!**

 **Quick note to The Titan's Shadow- The real-life sniper that I based Sharpshooter's sniper off of was the M110 sniper. Having said that, I wouldn't say that Sharpshooter has a M110 sniper; it's more like a custom made sniper that was designed by Sharpshooter to suit his needs as a vigilante. Thanks for the review and kind words! ~Kiera540**

Nothing...again. No fingerprints, no blood from them, no hair follicles, absolutely nothing. Keith was beyond frustrated, but at the same time he was used to this. Sharpshooter and Winger had successfully stopped the Galra from getting a weapons shipment from the docks last night before the police arrived. Last night went just like any of their other ops, they secured the shipment, tied up the bad guys, then anonymously tipped off the police so they could come for the cleanup, while the two vigilantes left behind no evidence that they were actually there.

"Nothing?" Shiro asked him, the shipment of various firearms had already been taken into police custody and the people that were left were properly arrested, now the two detectives were trying to find any clues that would help in their case.

"Nothing." Keith affirmed.

"It's strange to me. These guys do good work, but we still have to try to catch them."

"Well unless the Mayor suddenly makes being a vigilante legal, we have to chase them."

"We all know that it won't become legal, because then we'd get both the good and the bad vigilantes."

It was true, just about everyone supported what these two men were doing, but the simple fact remained that it was still technically illegal.

"At least we now know how Sharpshooter's shells disappear, but I still can't believe that after all this time we've never found anything. Not even part of a fingerprint, or a hair even. Despite knowing for a fact that they've been hurt on their ops, but we've never gotten any of their blood."

"There's also rarely any security footage of them." Shiro finished for Keith, "I wonder."

"What? What clicked?"

"Think about it. If you were fighting for your life, or for the lives of others, would you have time to notice that you lost a hair? If you're busy trying to escape from your enemies, are you going to be worried about where your blood ends up? If you do escape from them, are you going to be in any condition to risk going back there to remove it in what is usually a short amount of time before the police arrive?"

"Of course not. You're exact point?" Keith had a pretty good idea where Shiro was going with this, but he thought it was better to allow the man to work out his thought process uninterrupted.

"They must have someone else working with them. They have to. There's no way they could possibly notice these practically microscopic details without another set of eyes at least. Maybe this person is also the one that deals with the cleanup."

"It would make sense. It's obvious even. However, like you said, it only takes a short amount of time for the police to show up, so how could one person do all of that without being seen?"

"Well it could be more than one person." Shiro muttered, before falling into thought. Keith did have a solid argument, and almost tore down his theory with one relatively simple question. Almost being the key word.

"Wait! It all makes sense!"

"What does?"

"We received an anonymous tip, and that's what led us here, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well look around you! There's no evidence of the exact people who were here, yet we know it was the vigilantes due to the destruction scattered around from Sharpshooter's gun, and because the bad guys are all tied up. The question is though, how did no one hear this? This wasn't a small, stealth run. Our phone line should have been blowing up with calls concerning this, yet we got one singular phone call. Now tell me, when was the last time we didn't get an anonymous call after one of their ops?"

"Off the top of my head, I can't think of a time." Keith felt like kicking himself, Shiro, and everyone else in the precinct in that moment.

"If they can control the phone lines, they can restrict the calls that we receive, giving them plenty of time to deal with the cleanup before we even knew what was going on."

"Not only that, if they can listen to the calls, they could use that to gather information and they'd have the ability to know what some of the cops current locations are based on the information that the operators would be telling people calling about other issues."

"Someone who could do that would easily be able to hack into security cameras and erase or alter any footage of the vigilantes in actions, which would explain why they're never seen."

"We're gonna need Pidge."

* * *

"Yo, Pidgey! What's up?"

"Don't call me that, but, hey, did you hear? They hit another weapons shipment just a few hours ago."

"How would I know about that if it was that recent? If it's not in the news, it's safe to say that I didn't hear about it." Adam glanced over at Matt's words, he knew he was talking to his sister, but it always made him uneasy when they spoke of vigilante activities.

"Right. Sorry." Pidge laughed on the other side of the line, her and her brother spoke about everything and Matt was always aware of the current events that Pidge sometimes forgot that he didn't always find things out at the same time as her.

"What about it?" Matt pressed.

"Nothing special so far, Keith and Shiro are there checking it out now. It's just that there's been a lot of weapons shipments recently, it's making me think that the Galra are up to something."

"I'm sure it's fine, Pidge. There's been an increase in shipments because those two have been stopping more of them, right? Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, that's true. Thanks, Matt. I've got to go; they should be getting back soon. Talk to you later?"

"You got it. Bye, Pidgeon!" Matt swiftly hung up before Pidge could retort. He was sure that he'd get a nice text about that soon.

"What's up on their end?" Adam asked when Matt stuffed his phone into his pocket and sat across from him.

"Nothing special, usual detectives. One thing though..."

"What?"

"You know how I said that the Galra have to be planning something big even though we can't find any evidence of that?"

"Yes. You say that about every ten minutes. It's rather annoying actually."

"Right, well now I'm convinced even more. Pidge doesn't actively follow the Galra patrols, shipments, and everything else like we do, and yet even she thinks that they're up to something."

"So maybe you're not as crazy as you seem. What are we supposed to do though? We've got nothing to go off of."

"Hey, I am that crazy, and I'm proud of that. How dare you doubt my craziness." The famous Winger rolled his eyes while Matt put his hand to his chest and feigned serious offence and disgust at him.

"Then use your craziness that you love so much to figure out what they are up to! You can use any of my drones if you need to. All except for Hawk, I haven't repaired his left wing yet."

"I got it. You go sleep."

"I'm fine, I'll just-"

"Don't you even think about it! You and Lance both looked dead on your feet when you got back here."

"He's asleep, I'm fine now. Besides there's too much to do right now."

"Adam. Look at me."

"Matt-"

"No, listen. I'm okay, you're okay, and Lance is okay. You've got to stop beating yourself up over what happened to him."

"I wasn't there! That's why he got captured, that's why he got hurt. It's my fault!" Adam had grabbed the front of Matt's shirt then, he had helped trained Lance, he had helped to turn him into Sharpshooter, but after an argument that had happened between the two, Adam left, telling Lance to quit, saying that he was too childish to make it as a vigilante.

Adam regretted that decision with everything he had; three days after he had left, the Galra took the ten-year old girl that led to Sharpshooters capture and the burned down building. Lance escaped both the Galra and the fire on his own, before being found passed out a couple blocks away by Matt. Adam had raced back to Altea City as fast as he possibly could when he heard the news; Lance was in bad shape- physically, mentally, and emotionally. He refused to speak about what had happened to him, leaving the other two men to guess about the events based off of the injuries he had acquired during that time. Lance only had one question that night, the only time he spoke was to ask if he had succeeded, to ensure that the little girl was safe.

"You're here now. You know he doesn't blame you. It was a long recovery, but he's okay, we all are." Matt spoke gently as he grabbed Adams wrists to start removing them from his shirt. The other man had hung his head to hide the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, allowing himself to be slowly led to a bed set up in the corner. Adam collapsed onto the bed exhausted, the two vigilantes had been working extra shifts recently and his body was reminding him of that now.

Matt ensured that Adam was asleep before checking on the still sleeping, still unmoving Lance before going back to his tech set up. It was true, Lance didn't blame Adam, he never did. Matt, however; did for a while. It was also true that Lance probably wouldn't have been captured if Adam hadn't walked out that day.

After two months had passed, the city was declining. The criminals grew bolder, the cops were having more trouble, the city was losing business- all because two certain vigilantes hadn't been seen. Lance was better, and had started speaking freely again, but he was in no position to go back out there; it was then that Matt decided that Altea City needed to have Sharpshooter, and that wouldn't happen without him forgiving Adam.

Matt had planned everything out; Adam would alternate posing as Sharpshooter and being Winger. Winger was good at keeping the criminals in check, and made the streets safe once again; but Sharpshooter gave Altea City the hope they had lost, the only reason the people had the courage to walk those streets again was because of their born-and-breed hero being present.

When Lance recovered, several months later, the mantel was happily returned to him. The three of them fell into a steady rhythm to the point that any onlookers would have no idea of the massive strains between them only a few months prior. Lance had mostly returned to his cheerful self, except for the occasional moment; Adam never fully got over his guilt and struggled more often, but never in front of Lance himself.

Matt did what he could for them, it had been almost a full year since that incident and broken pieces were still being picked up, but they were here. They had survived the storm and now focused everything they had into freeing Altea City from the Galra. They wouldn't fail. That was Matt's job as Watcher after all.

 **Thank you for the amazing** **support that this fic has received! I apologize for the shorter chapter, but I feel that important topics were covered in order for the story to progress, and that felt like the natural ending to me. Chapter 4 is already in the works. See you next time!**

 **~Kiera540 and KadyG**


	4. The Plan

**I apologize, again, for the long wait. With graduation, regionals for my sport, and life in general I've been struggling to find time to write. ~Kiera540**

 **Here's Chapter 4, enjoy! ~Kiera540 and KadyG**

"Where's the kid?"

"Something about helping with a bakery delivery. He'll be gone for most of the day." Matt informed Adam as he finished the repairs on the drone he had named Hawk.

"Great. There's something I want to check out, feel like helping?"

"You're not still talking about breaking into that Galra General's headquarters, are you?"

"That'd be the one."

"I thought we agreed it would be too dangerous." Matt spun around in his chair to glare at the other man, it wasn't the first time that Adam had brought this up. That didn't mean that Matt liked the idea any more though.

"No, I said it was too dangerous for the kid. He's not here though."

"Oh, yes. Going in alone is so much better."

"Matt, come on. You've been on my ass about how the Galra are upping their game. Breaking into this Generals HQ would give us the answers we need! The evidence is sitting right in front of us, and without Lance I don't have to worry about his mental state or about keeping him safe."

"Yes, but this General is known for being especially brutal."

"I'm doing this. Help me or not, that's your choice." Adam finally tore his eyes off Hawk and locked eyes with Matt, he really was serious. They needed to do this. Bringing Lance would be a fool's idea, but waiting longer would lead to death and destruction, and it's not like they could just ask someone else for help.

"You'd do this in broad daylight?" Matt hated the idea, despised it really. Honestly, he was afraid the Galra would send him back home in a box, but, despite his fear, he would never allow either one of them to ever go in without his help. He knew that Adam really would go in alone, so he resigned himself to play his role as Watcher.

"It's the last thing they'd expect. At night they're heavily guarded, and doing their own business, but in broad daylight, they downsize to avoid detection from preying eyes."

"Fine. One condition though."

"Name it."

"Tell Curtis that you're going to do something stupid and he needs to be on standby."

"Can't you do that?"

"I could, but I don't agree to this. You get to be the one to look him in the eyes and explain why he's most likely going to be needed yourself."

"Whatever." Adam wasn't sure why Matt was making him do this, maybe he thought that Curtis would be able to talk him out of going. That was unlikely to happen, but still; having the only medic who knew their secret to be on standby wouldn't be a bad idea.

* * *

"Lance! You made it!" Hunk's cheerful voiced greeted as Lance entered his bakery.

"Of course I did! I said I'd help, didn't I? So, what are we moving today?" Lance replied just as cheerfully.

"First, is Mrs. Crawler's tiered baby shower cake, then we've got a few dozen graduation cupcakes for a party, finally a long sheet cake in the evening for a retirement ceremony."

"Sheesh you guys are busy!"

"Yep! Let's get going! I already loaded the cake with Allura and she's going to stay here and man the bakery while we run around."

"Sounds good. Speaking of which, where is Allura?" Lance questioned with a smile spreading across his face.

"In the back. NO! No, time for flirting! Let's go!" Hunk practically dragged Lance out of the bakery and into their delivery van, completely ignoring Lance's claims that he was just going to say hi.

The first delivery was easy, with the weight spread between two people, the cake could easily be carried into the spacious home. The majority of the people there were a little tipsy at this point, but they thanked them for the cake and remembered to tip them nicely before tearing into the sugary baked goodness.

The second delivery was more hectic, but nothing that they weren't prepared for. Since it was a graduation party, most of the people present were high school or college aged and were a little wild. Not very helpful when both Hunk and Lance were balancing large boxes filled with cupcakes. Thankfully, a couple of higher-classed college guys came up and shooed the others away while taking some of the boxes to make the load easier. The red-headed man who help Lance turned out to be the older brother of the party's guest of honor, and spoke with Lance after pointing Hunk in the direction of the necessary adults.

"Ready to go?" Hunk asked after he returned.

"Yeah in minute."

"Lance, you're flirting again."

"I am not!"

"Okay, sure. Here's the deal, you can stay here and flirt until it's time for our last delivery; or, you can come with me and get lunch instead. I'll be in the van. Five minutes then I'm leaving."

Sure enough, five minutes later, Lance was entering the van with Hunk, the appeal of food was just too strong to ignore.

* * *

"Hi! Welcome to the Atlas Family Café, just one today?"

"Yes, is Curtis working today?"

"He is. Would you like his section?"

"Yes, if possible."

"Of course! Right this way." The perky employee led Adam to the small bar in the back of the restaurant. Curtis alternated between standing behind it and zipping around the nearby tables.

"First Matt, now you."

"Nice to see you too." Adam greeted as he slid onto the stool.

"Business or just here for the food?"

"Both." Curtis raised an eyebrow at him then, that sure was a first.

"Which one first?"

"Food. I'm starving. I'll explain after that."

"Usual then?"

"You still remember it?"

"Of course. Double bacon cheeseburger with just mayo, sweet potato fries, and a coke to drink, right?"

"Get to it then." Adam teased while Curtis went into the kitchen to get his order started. Curtis also got someone to take over his other tables, he figured this was going to be a long conversation.

"Alright. You've put it off long enough. Spill." Curtis ordered after Adam had finished his burger.

"I got one of my ideas again." Adam started, nibbling on his fries.

"Oh, God, what now." Adam's ideas were never good. They usually led to results that would help a halted investigation, but they were always incredibly dangerous and pretty much guaranteed that one of them was going to get hurt. Badly.

"I'm going to break into a top ranking Galra General's headquarters to see what they are planning." Matt's blunt words were like a slap to the face. Curtis was glad he didn't have to force the exact plan out of Matt, but at the same time, he could have softened it a bit. Now Curtis was having the expected heart attack.

"You're what? Which one?!"

"He's known for being 'especially brutal' I believe is what Matt said."

"Him?! But, Lance-" Adam held up a hand then, cutting him off.

"The kid isn't coming." Relief flooded and fear clawed at Curtis simultaneously. Relief that Lance wouldn't be anywhere near that situation again, but terrible fear that Adam would be doing something this crazy alone!

"Alone?! Are you mad?! With all of their security you'd never get in!" Curtis realized that it was very difficult to both yell at Adam for his stupidity and keep his voice low enough that unwanted ears would be unable to hear their conversation. He settled for more of a stage whisper paired with a death glare that would have made anyone else fear for their life. It annoyed Curtis to no end that Adam simply sat there munching on fries like he didn't even notice the burning eyes directed at him.

"That's why I'm going during the day."

"How does that make it better?!"

"During the day, they halt what they're doing and ease up on the security to avoid detection, but they keep all of their plans and other information stored there."

"And Matt agreed to this?"

"He did."

"So I'm going to assume you want me on standby for when you come back beat to a pulp."

"Preferably yes."

"Fine. Just do me one favor?"

"Sure. What?"

"Come back alive."

"Don't worry, that won't be a problem."

"Adam I'm serious."

"So am I." With that Adam set cash on the table and walked out of the café, and almost crashed into Lance and Hunk.

"Ah. Sorry." Adam said as he skirted around them, _Crap! I was hoping not to run into him!_ His mind yelled at him.

"It's okay!" Hunk called over his shoulder to the other man, "Hey, did he seem familiar to you?"

"What? No, I don't recognize him." As per their agreement, Lance and Adam never interacted in public together and say that they don't know each other. That way, if one of their identities was ever discovered, they would have nothing connecting one to the other. _Why would he be here?_ It was strange, sure Adam could have just been checking on Curtis, but it was unusual that he would go in person to the café instead of checking another way. _What is he up to?_

Adam sighed, that was a close one, it was pure luck that he wasn't alone. Hopefully Hunk could keep Lance's mind distracted long enough for Adam to do his job. He pulled out his cell phone then and checked his surroundings using Hawk before ducking into a back alley and disappearing into the side of the wall. After Lance had been captured, Adam had installed secret stashes all over the city filled with weapons, armor, medical supplies, and anything else they could need while out in the field. He suited up there, taking a deep breath before exiting again.

"Get ready Sendak, I'm coming for you!"

 **Thank you so much for the phenomenal support of this story! Chapter 5 is in progress, and I promise to put it out as fast as possible! See you next time!**

 **~Kiera540 and KadyG**


	5. The Raid

**I apologize for the long wait for this chapter, but my computer had a problem and deleted over half of my recently written work on the majority of my recently open works which led to a lot of rewrites on my documents. I am happy to say that the problem has been fixed and all except for one document has been rewritten. Now, please enjoy the chapter!**

One of the very few non-bird named drones that Winger currently possessed zipped around his targeted warehouse. He had to respect whoever had built such a deceiving building, at the first glance, it looked like nothing more than a storage warehouse that any number of companies could be using; but on closer inspection, it actually had many underground levels that spanned an area far greater than the perimeter of the warehouse seen above the ground.

"How's it going buddy?" Watcher called through the communication device that was situated in his right ear.

"I'm just scanning and doing recon with _Odoroki_ right now."

"Why'd you have to name random ones in Japanese? Just pick a bird like ya normally do." Matt hated any and all of Winger's drones that weren't named after some type of bird. He occasionally struggled to pronounce their names properly and pretty much always forgot what they meant in English.

" _Odoroki_ means 'surprise' remember? I thought it was quite fitting." It's true, 'surprise' really was a fitting name for this drone. Matt will probably never understand how Adam did it, but he managed to make the most ideal drone possible. _Odoroki_ was so small that it was easy to hide it behind objects or zip past someone who wasn't paying enough attention, despite it being his second fastest drone, _Odoroki_ didn't make the slightest sound as it flew around easily earning the title as the quietest drone on record. Another advantage was the built in camera and scanner, Winger could see everything clearly on his wrist projector while still remaining a safe distance away from his target.

Which is exactly what he was doing right now, so far, he hadn't seen anything alarming. Security cameras, guards, a few traps, nothing he hadn't dealt with before. It was almost too easy, practically begging for someone to break inside and take the valuable information stored within.

"I'm not seeing much of anything. Am I missing something?" Winger spoke into his com.

"Not that I've seen. This must be the 'decreased security during the day' thing, but I'd imagine that the further down you go the more you're going to find. Can you search further?" Matt answered while simultaneously watching Adam through Hawk that he was controlling and watching the screen that showed what _Odoroki_ saw.

"Not without losing signal, there's some kind of interference, I think I can cancel it out once I'm in there though. I'll just have to clear a level, scan the next one, then clear it again."

"That'll take a while, can you cut the power instead?"

"Not without cutting the power to the whole place, and if I do that, I might as well just run in there screaming 'I'M HERE! COME SHOOT ME!' not exactly ideal."

"None of this is ideal." Watcher grumbled in his ear.

"I'm giving you control of _Odoroki_."

"Got 'em. You going in now?"

"Yeah. Take out the cameras for me, would ya?"

"Already on it. Good luck Winger, don't die."

* * *

"Welcome to the Atlas Family Café; two?"

"Yes." Hunk answered the perky employee.

"Right this way!" Hunk had to nudge Lance to get him to follow the employee to their booth.

"Thanks," Hunk said to the waiter when they were seated and had their menus, "don't tell me you're still thinking about that red head from the graduation party."

"Huh?"

"Come on dude, it's so obvious!" Lance actually was trying to figure out why Adam was at the Café, but he couldn't exactly say that to Hunk. It was so strange, normally if Adam wanted to check in on Curtis he would have just sent him a text or called him, if he wanted to talk in person he'd just drop by Curtis's apartment after he was done for the day. To drop by in person in the middle of the day was pretty much a nonexistent occurrence, and Lance's mind was doing cartwheels in its attempt to figure out the reason behind it.

"So what if I am?" Lance joked covering his face with a menu.

"I knew it! Oh, hey Curtis!" Hunk called out as the said man was passing by.

"Oh hey guys." Lance immediately noticed that he was out of uniform and had his backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Going somewhere? I thought you were working the lunch and early dinner shift." He questioned.

"Usually I am, but the hospital called, someone called in sick so they asked if I could fill in. Since we aren't busy I figured why not." Curtis rubbed the back of his neck as he answered.

"Ah man, how long are you working?" Hunk said before Lance could say anything else.

"The filler shift then my usual night hours, but I should get a small break in between. I gotta run to make it in time, see ya guys, enjoy the food!" Curtis dashed out of the door after that.

"Bye!" Hunk yelled after him, Lance silently waved while his mind turned its cartwheels into flips with this new information. The hospital calling him in was a load of crap, since he was already working the night shift if someone did call in sick they would call in other people first. The only reason that they would call in people who were already in the work schedule for that day would be if there was a major accident and they were suddenly flooded with patients. Being a vigilante, Lance would have been one of the first to know that something like that had happened, so that alone would have told him that Curtis was up to something, but add Adam's random visit into the mix and what do you get?

A pissed off, very confused Cuban vigilante sitting in a café booth with an incredulous look on his face staring at Curtis' rapidly disappearing back.

"You okay buddy?" Hunk nudged him under the table with his foot.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just hungry."

"Great, let's order!"

 _If those two are up to something, I'm gonna kill them!_ Lance's brain helpfully stated. He'd try to get a hold of Matt later when he could slip away and figure out just what the hell was going on.

* * *

Curtis let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, he was really hoping to not see Lance today. He hated both that they were lying to Lance and also that Adam was going alone, but at the same time, he couldn't even begin to think about what would happen to Lance if he even got near Sendak again. Pulling out the keys to his car, he shivered when he was forced to remember what had happened. It wasn't common knowledge, but the man who had kidnapped a ten year old girl and had tortured Lance, was the exact same man who owned the warehouse that Winger was currently breaking into.

Curtis chewed his bottom lip as he drove, he had a bad feeling about all of this. He understood the importance of getting the information they were hoping was there, but understanding did nothing to help settle his nerves. For every advantage and skill point that Winger had, Sendak had three times as many. This general could even be considered to be more brutal, more twisted, more dangerous than even the Galra Gang leader. Sendak did, after all, kidnap the ten year old girl for the hell of it, he did it on a complete whim; and the only reason it was her that was taken was the simple unfortunate timing of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When Curtis arrived at his apartment he grabbed a backpack and preceded to stuff as many painkillers, bandages, stiches, and every other type of medical supply imaginable into the bag. He then changed into a pair of black jeans and a navy blue t-shirt; grabbing a different backpack, he put his wallet, phone charger, current book he was reading, and the rest of his personal items into it.

Hopping back into his car he shot a text to Matt to let him know he was on his way before making the thirty minute drive to what they dubbed the "Vigilante HQ."

* * *

"Hey man." Matt called when Curtis entered the main area.

"How's it going?" Curtis questioned, dropping both bags down and pulling a chair up to sit next to Matt and his impressive display of screens.

"So far we're good. Winger started a few minutes ago, he clears the level he's on, scouts the next one with _Odoroki,_ then repeats the whole process. It's slow going, but it's the safest way we can do it."

"How is he dealing with the cameras and patrols?"

"He hasn't ran into too many people yet, he's not deep enough for the main patrols yet, so right now he avoids them with the information he got from _Odoroki._ As for the cameras, I deal with some of them and he's using signal blockers that we installed in his suit to block everything on the floor he's currently on. That includes the cameras, alarms, pressure plates, anything and everything that uses some kind of electronic signal; he's blocking." Matt explained.

"Only for that floor though?"

"Well, we can't block the entire building without taking out the whole power grid which would be a little suspicious. If he uses his suit to block multiple floors at once, he runs the risk of stretching it too far, and one little camera or alarm might not get blocked. If even the smallest thing gets triggered it'd blow the whole operation, so to play it safe, we're doing it floor-by-floor."

"How far down is he?"

"He's clearing the sixth floor right now."

"Of?"

"Best guess? About 28. I can't get an exact read, one thing I can tell you is that they definitely get bigger the further down you go."

"Has he found anything interesting yet?"

"Just some patrol route information and some incoming shipments, nothing we didn't already know."

"How can that thing be 28 levels deep?! And increasing in size?" Curtis practically shouted when the words previously spoken finally settled in.

"I don't know! I've just been rolling with the classic 'bad guy gets his own set of scientific laws' trope that has been pretty much our whole lives. Remember, that's a guess, I can't get a proper read that deep underground at this point."

"I've always hated that trope," Curtis grumbled, "I'm gonna set up. Keep me posted."

"Will do."

 **I apologize for the long wait, I've been really busy recently and I had a few health problems, but don't worry, I will definitely continue this story all the way to its end. Thank you so much for the support, and for understanding! Chapter 6 is currently in progress, see you next time!**

 **~Kiera540**


	6. Encounter

**So the bad news is that I'm very sick, but on the bright side- because of the holidays I have some free time! So I'm going to power through it to get some more chapters out for y'all! Enjoy!**

This was not how this raid was supposed to go! When Winger was planning this raid out he envisioned himself getting in and out with some vital information in tow, instead though, he was currently sprinting around an enemy compost being chased by more enemies than he cared to count.

"Watcher I need room! I can't fight like this!" Winger yelled into his comms. These hallways were so narrow to the point that he couldn't even spread his arms out.

"Left turn now! There's a large room ahead!" Watcher shouted back, carefully keeping an eye on everything through _Odoroki_ and the body camera on Winger.

Winger pivoted on the spot flying down the final corridor, if he could just get some more room he'd actually be able to deal with these guys. The basic foot soldiers of the Galra Gang weren't particularly strong, but their numbers more than made up for the lack of strength. That was the Galra's way, if they couldn't scare you into submission with pure intimidation then they would overpower you with staggering numbers. Even now, when the compost was supposed to be mostly empty, there was still a significant amount of soldiers present.

When Winger finally barged into one of the largest rooms in the entire compound alarm bells started blaring in his head. The look of this room gave off a suffocating aura of danger, but before Winger had a chance to figure out why or even be able to properly look around the room, the group of people that were chasing him were now on top of him. Unsheathing his staff, Winger didn't hesitate to get started. He didn't fear the foot soldiers, and despite his presence now being known, he still planned on continuing his mission. He already knew that the 'big bosses' of the Galra Gang were wrapped up in business of their own. He would never get this chance again, if he didn't get this information here and now, they wouldn't have a chance in hell of stopping whatever the Galra were planning.

The activation of Winger's famous staff made some of the soldiers hesitate, buying him a few precious seconds worth of time. His staff required more mental power than he would have cared for, but its effectiveness had no equal. If Winger used too much of the staffs power, he would badly burn or even kill his opponent; but if he used too little power, it would be nothing more than a static shock that his opponent would barely even register. Winger smirked as he took on the soldiers closest to him, it was a wonder that the Galra hadn't figured out this little secret yet. The effectiveness of his staff couldn't be fully accredited to Winger alone. Part of the reason was not the wielder's skill or strength, but the metals and other compounds in the Galra Gang's armor. The exact reason was long, confusing, and extremely complicated to the point that Lance and Matt didn't even understand why it happened, but put simply, the armor of the Galra's soldiers was susceptible to electricity and Adam had spent months fine-tuning the frequency and power of his staff. He finally found the perfect formula for him to minimize the damage done to his opponent, but also minimizing the amount of time required to subdue them.

Due to this formula needing to be perfectly balanced, Winger's mind was always racing every time he was in combat, constantly adjusting the frequency when required and counting the seconds that the end of his staff was in contact with his opponent. It certainly kept him on his toes, but to him, it was worth it.

"So the reports were accurate after all!" A voice boomed throughout the room, freezing everyone. Winger's blood ran cold, he knew that voice. It's owner wasn't supposed to be here.

"Adam, I'm losing my visual! Get out! Get out now!" Matt screamed in his ear, figuring out what was happening a second sooner due to his birds-eye view that had just started to fritz out.

"Imagine my surprise when I was told that there was a vigilante sneaking around my compound. And not just any vigilante! It's the famous Winger, what a privilege we have, boys!"

 _No! No no no no no no! He's not supposed to be here!_

"What? Surprised to see me? Why? It's my compound after all." The voice taunted him.

 _It was a trap! All of it! The promise of him not being here, the mostly empty compound, the temptation of stealing the plans! It was all a trap! They led me here!_

The realization slammed into Winger like a truck, he didn't gather the information about this compound, it was given to him; he didn't happen to run across this conveniently large room, he was led here.

He wasn't the only one who fought better in large, open rooms.

* * *

"What's going on?!" Curtis yelled.

"I'm being jammed!"

"By what?! We took all of the jammers out!"

"I don't know! Adam! Adam, you hear me?!" Matt shouted into the comms, getting nothing except static in return. This could not be happening!

"Adam, listen to me, he's here, you need to get out! Now! Adam, respond!" They both waited with bated breath hoping for something, anything!

"Damn it! I can't get through and _Odoroki_ is glitching so much I can't see anything!"

"Matt, that wasn't really him was it?" Curtis had a calm look on his face, but the worry in his voice betrayed him.

"You had better get down there."

"How did this happen?"

"Just be ready to catch him when he comes flying out. We'll figure this out later. Take a mask, and the car. Go now!" Curtis didn't need to be told twice, zipping up his jacket and throwing his black hat back onto his head, he grabbed a mask and dove into the special car they had set aside for times like this.

* * *

Lance didn't consider himself a paranoid person, but an unknown force was eating away at him today. He originally thought he had forgotten someone's birthday, or maybe left the oven on at his apartment, but as the feeling grew he started to worry it was due to his other life. He knew that the Galra were plotting. Did this mean they went from plotting to executing their plan? He couldn't shake the feeling off so he decided to call Adam. His phone rang once before suddenly cutting off. _That's weird._ He tried again, but the two phones couldn't connect. He tried calling Matt next, but after waiting out all of the long rings, he was met with the same luck.

 _Since when do those two not answer their phones? And at the same time too._

There was one more option Lance had, the three of them plus Curtis all had an emergency beacon that they carried with them at all times. Lance could activate his and it would send his location and a voice message to the other, but he resisted that option. He knew it was a serious situation, but at the same time, he didn't have any actual proof, only his gut feeling; and that wasn't enough to warrant the heart attack the others would have if he activated his emergency beacon. So Lance huffed and continued with his day, glancing over his shoulder, and checking his phone every five minutes, keeping an eye out for whatever was causing this bizarre six-sense feeling.

"Earth to Lance, you in there?" Hunk called waving his hands in front of his best friends face.

"Sorry, man. I'm just really busy." Lance answered, suddenly pulled out of his thoughts and temporarily interrupting his scoping.

"Where is your head today?"

"Ah it's nothing important, don't worry. What were you saying?" Lance hated lying to his best friend, and if he was actually honest to himself, he'd really like to talk about some things with him. However, this secret could never be shared, if Hunk knew of his other life he would immediately be put in danger, and that's something Lance will never allow. After Lance was injured by the Galra, he had told his friends and family that he had been in a bad car accident and that he was living with Matt at his apartment after he was released from the hospital. He was thankful that Adam and Matt had done all of the planning and heavy lifting coming up with lies, changing records or the appearance of things to make it believable, and Matt took care of all the required talking. His family and friends thankfully, were more concerned about him than the details of what happened, making it a lot easier to explain the bald-faced lies.

He knew Hunk constantly worried about his mental state and talked to Lance as much as he could, but there was only so much Hunk could do when he didn't even begin to know the real story.

"You'll let me know if you need anything, right?" Hunk said softly.

"You'll be the first. Really, I'm fine." Lance reassured him flashing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Our last delivery is a fairly large cake for a retirement ceremony, the main problem is it's a little ways away."

"Well we better get going then!" Lance called running back to their truck.

* * *

"Adam I swear to God, if you die, I will kill you!" Curtis snapped as he speeded through the streets.

"I don't think it works like that."

"Not the time Matt. Tell me you have something?"

"Oh yeah I've got a lot of 'something' alright, it's called NOTHING!"

Curtis mentally added Matt to the list of people he planned on killing.

"Did he activate it?" Curtis didn't know if he should be more worried or less worried that Adam hasn't activated his emergency beacon yet.

"Not yet. Doesn't matter what kind of fancy jammer they have; those beacons can get through anything."

"You sure about that?"

"Trust me. It took Adam and I forever to do it; nothing can stop it."

"What about Lance? If Adam activates his beacon, we won't be able to stop Lance from rushing in there."

"I've already taken care of it."

"What have you done now?!"

"I deactivated Lance's beacon."

"YOU WHAT?! What about if he needs to use his?! How did you even do that?! Since when could you do that?!"

"Calm down. He's delivering cakes with Hunk today and I'm tracking the van, plus I miiiiiggggghhhhtttt have Eagle following him, and of course I can do that! I designed the tech; my rules!"

"Screw the Galra, you're going to be the death of me. Don't think this conversation is over! I will deal with you later!"

"Oh great, now I have something to look forward to!"

Curtis suddenly found Matt at the top of his ever increasing list of people he was planning on murdering.

* * *

It sounded as if Matt was yelling Chinese in Adam's ear before cutting off completely.

 _Great. They brought jammers with them._

Adam's mind was racing even faster now, attempting to figure out how to get himself out of this situation. He couldn't go out the way he came in as the Galra were slowly starting to surround him, focusing their numbers on the exit. The second option was a door up on a platform, the problem with that option was very simple; it was the door his new opponents just came through. His third option was creating his own door, but with him being so far underground it wouldn't do him much good. There was only one thing Adam knew and that was that he needed to get out of this room, separate their forces, and work his way back to the surface. How he'd do that? He was still working on that part.

"What's the matter little birdie? You don't look so good."

"What can I say, Sendak? You don't smell so good." Pissing off the Galra General probably wasn't his best idea, but the longer he could keep the conversation going, the longer he'd have to come up with an escape plan.

"Let's see if we can beat that sense of humor out of him, what'd ya say boys?"

 _Or not!_

Well Plan A was now scrapped as the foot soldiers started charging him, the General having no intentions to allow him anymore time to think. What was Plan B again?

Winger knew Sendak's strategy, Sendak knew that his foot soldiers, despite having superior numbers wouldn't be able to defeat Winger, but they could wear him down. After Winger was exhausted, Sendak would then engage him to finish him off. Winger however, had no intentions of letting that happen. Sendak's fighting style made it very difficult for others to fight with him or help him, so if Winger could draw him into a fight the other soldiers would back off. The problem with that is that Winger would be fighting Sendak alone, underground with no escape, on his own turf. Not exactly and ideal situation. His best option was to get the hell out of this room, but as time went on, he started to realize that it would be impossible to do so without getting into a big fight of some kind.

"What's the matter Sendak?! Too scared to fight me yourself?!" Winger shouted out at the same time as he slammed his staff into the ground, effectively throwing the Galra close to him across the room finally providing him some breathing room.

"I fear nothing, vigilante." Sendak's voice growled out.

"Then face me!" Winger yelled as he threw a dagger towards the good General's face. Sendak caught it easily, but it did the trick. He was a very easy man to aggravate, and having a knife thrown at your face would piss anyone off. Winger wasn't sure if he should celebrate or cry when his plan worked and Sendak vaulted over the railing to land a few feet in front of him.

Now both exits were mostly clear, only a few soldiers remaining by each. Ideally he wanted to go out the way he came in so he could retrace his steps back to the surface, but he had no doubt that the Galra were expecting him to do that and had stationed extra men along his path. If he used the other exit, he wouldn't know the way, but there shouldn't be as many enemies in his way.

Ten minutes and a killer uppercut later, Winger found himself on his back with his body screaming at him. His staff wasn't nearly as effective on the General's armor and for every hit he landed, Sendak landed three. He wasn't going to get anywhere like this, his body was at its limits. Sendak threw a box at him which he quickly rolled away from, throwing more daggers as a counter. Sendak raised his left arm to block them. Winger narrowed his eyes, there was something about that arm, Sendak had only been using it for defense but he didn't seem to feel anything that hit it. Winger couldn't see its appearance due to the mass of armor covering it, but he knew it had to be different than his offensive right arm.

Before Winger could think on the matter anymore the impossible happened, Sendak gave an evil smile and pointed his left arm directly at him. Winger didn't know what was about to happen but it certainly wasn't that! Sendak launched his left arm at Winger; he jumped out of the way but with his attention diverted he was helpless to Sendak charging in and getting a clean hit with his right arm.

 _What the hell was that?! How is that possible?! It's not possible!_ _Arms can't just fly off a body!_

Adam couldn't comprehend what had just occurred. His mind reeled, and his body ached, his entire mindset just changed. He needs to get out. Right now. Before now he entertained the idea of maybe defeating Sendak, but now that he had revealed his newest weapon, that thought flew out of Adam's mind.

 _I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this._

Winger slammed his hand down onto his left wrist activating his emergency beacon. Turning his attention back to the fight at hand, he had to find a way out.

He has to get out to survive!

 **Sorry about the cliff hanger! I will try to get Chapter 7 out faster! Thank you so much for your support! Also peep all of the chapter names, I finally added some!**

 **~Kiera540 and KadyG**


	7. -Temporary Hiatus-

**Hello everyone!**

 **I want to take a moment to thank everyone for the support this fic has received! It means so much to me!**

 **Unfortunately, I'm putting "Night has Come" on a temporary hiatus.**

 **I can promise you that I will finish this story, but due to time constraints and a writers block in the Voltron fandom, I am unable to finish it at this time.**

 **Thank you so much for understanding!**

 **Like I said, this hiatus is only temporary and I will return to finish this story at a later date.**

 **I'm sorry about this, but I hope you all can understand.**

 **Kiera540**


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